Wheel.



PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908.

P. J. COOPER.

Ila-876,334.

WHEEL.

. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16,1906.

WITNESSES:

FRANK .T. COOPER, OF TOLEDO,

OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN M. SKINNER, OF

TOLEDO, OHIO.

WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14:, 1908.

Application filed June 16 1906. Serial No. 322.069.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. Ooornn, a citizen of the United States,residing at T0- ledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheels; and I do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to wheels of that class which is especially welladapted for use in wheelbarrows and agricultural machinery, and isdesigned to furnish a construction which shall be simple and cheap andwhich shall be exceedingly strong, rigid, and dur able. I attain theseobjects by means of the devices and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and shown, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my wheel; Fig. 2, a sectionalplan-view taken on line m 9s Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a top-plan view of thehub of my wheel detached with a si gle spoke in place and shown beforethe operation of forming the spoke-socket, as hereinafter described.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, 1 is the hub of my wheel having an axial boretherethrough and having short radial arms 2 formed U-shape incross-section as illustrated in Fig. 3. These arms are connected byV-shaped webs 3 which give strength to the hub and its arms. The hub thearms and the web are formed integral of malleable iron or other suitableductile metal.

4 is the rim of my wheel formed of wood, if preferred, or metal.

5 is the tire.

6-6 are spokes consisting of metal rods or tubes having at their outerextremity reduced portions 6 forming shoulders 7.

The rim is bored or punched at proper intervals to receive the reducedendportions of the spokes, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The radial arms 2present a series of trough-like recesses the inner ends of which areinclined or beveled, as at 8, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

My wheel is assembled as follows: The spokes have their reduced outerend-portions 6 inserted into the corresponding holes in the rim. Theinner ends of the spokes are now dropped into the trough-like recessesin the radial arms of the hub. The spokes are of such length that theirinner ends rest and abut against the beveled ends of the recesses in thehubarms. N ow the spokes must be driven or forced transversely at theirinner ends to enter them into the recesses of the hub-arms. This, by thewedge-like action of the inclined parts 8, forces each of the spokesendwise outwardly so that the shoulders 7 are in close contact with therim and so that the spokes and the rim are now under tension. The lipsor flanges 2 of the radial hub-arms a re next, by means of a suitabledie and press, and by a single operation, bent toward each other so thattheir edges meet, as at 2 in Fig. 1. The spokes inner ends are nowstrongly clamped and gripped in the sockets formed by the closing of thelips or flanges of the hubarms. It will be seen that both sides of thehub now present the same appearance and that rattling and the lateraland longitudinal movements of the inner ends of the spokes are renderedimpossible. The hub, being of a single casting, is inex pensive and theoperation of assembling the parts of the wheel is quickly and cheaplyperformed.

.llaving described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is,

A wheel comprising a rim, a series of spokes abutting against the rim, ahub having a cor responding series of hollow radial arms integral withthe hub, said arms being cleft longitudinally and adapted to receivelaterally the inner ends of the spokes, adapted also to be bent fromopen to closed form to furnish spoke-sockets, and beveled portions uponthe hub at the inner ends of the recesses against which beveled portionsthe inner ends of the spokes abut.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK J. COOPER.

Witnesses:

OLEM. V. WAGNER, ADA LAW.

